Scientists at Queens University in Belfast have found that the interstellar asteroid Oumuamua, nicknamed the "alien ship", arrived from the outer outskirts of an alien planetary system. The researchers' article was published in the journal Nature Astronomy. This was announced in a press release on the EurekAlert! Website.
Astronomers have estimated how much light the asteroid reflects. It turned out that Oumuamua is an ice body covered with a dry carbon crust that was formed due to exposure to cosmic rays over many millions of years. A half-meter thick coating protects the asteroid from evaporation by solar radiation. Similar objects are located on the outskirts of the solar system.
Oumuamua is the first interstellar object ever discovered by humans. The cigar-shaped asteroid is 400 meters long and about 30 meters in diameter. The object was discovered on October 19, 2017 at a distance of 0.2 astronomical units from Earth.
Breakthrough Listen scientists have suggested that Oumuamua's interstellar object may be an alien ship.
